So it was both our first time on a helicopter and it was amazing! We both loved it! As we flew over the canyon we then landed on the floor of the canyon for a champagne lunch. I cannot describe it. It was so surreal the whole thing. While the pilots were preparing the lunch we were down and the edge taking pictures and that and when I turned around he was down on his knee. Me being the romantic I am, thought he was being sick from the Helicopter ride or something . And then out came the ring I couldn’t believe it.. I don’t think I actually even said yes, it’s such a blur!! But I have the ring so I must have said yes!! I didn’t see much more of the canyon on the helicopter trip back.. all I could do was stare at the ring! Definitely a trip I will never forget. I didn’t think he could be so romantic but wow it certainly was!!

I don’t know how ‘engaging’ the story is, but we’re thrilled! (and engaged!)

He picked me up, looking dashing, as usual, and swept me off to our regular old fun filled local dinner spot, Baracoa. He was acting normal, so, I had no idea what was coming.

After dinner, we get in the car and start driving. Music is a huge part of our lives, so I figured we might be going to a show, but it was a Monday night, and NOTHING was happening. I’d googled all of the local music venues. The Greek was dark, the Hollywood Bowl was dark, Pantageous dark. Nothing worthwhile was happening at the tiny local places either. Spaceland had nothing good, not even the troubador had anything going on. So, we’re driving along, and all of a sudden I see the EL Rey marquis. FRIENDLY FIRES was playing! OMG! I knew that was my big surprise for our anniversary! We were planning on going the previous December, and were really looking forward to it, but he got mugged that day at gunpoint! (Thank God nothing serious happened that day!)

I was sooooo excited to see Friendly Fires! We parked the car, and he’d been filming our night, as he does regularly. He said, “just stand there, while I get a shot of the sign and you.” So I stood; he got down on one knee, and he fiddled with the camera. I still had no idea what was going on.

I said, “c’mon already! Let’s go inside!” I was really looking forward to seeing the show.

He begins to recite a practiced propsal. “So, I think this is a perfect way to culminate a perfect year. I’d like to know if you’d like to make it permanent.”

Huh?!?!

He pulled out a blue ring pop. “I got you the biggest sapphire I could find. Will you marry me?”

I said, “Is this for real?” He’d proposed, and I STILL didn’t get it!

He said, “Yes, I want you to be my wife. Then he produced a real engagement ring.”

I squealed, and cried, and jumped around, give him the biggest sloppiest kiss ever, and evenually said “YES!”

As my thoughts drifted away to the sky above, I heard my boyfriend calling out :” Hey sweetie….what cha doing?” He then caught up with me shortly after. He asked if I slept ok and how I was doing. I said: “The sleep was great. It feels awesome to be out by the ocean. How’s about you? Did you sleep ok? Did I wake you up?” He quietly responded: “Nah…but hey sweetie, I wrote you a poem last night…” He quickly drew out a note from his pocket and started reading. I was amazed because he has never wrote a poem before to me.

I nearly cried listening to the poem, then he cried when he softly uttered: “Will you marry me?” and kneeled down right besides me….All I did for the first few minutes was crying, and hugging my boyfriend then so tightly like I couldn’t let go of him…I then softly whispered “of course sweetie, of course I would like to marry you!”

By mid-July I was getting antsy because not a word about engagement had happened since that night at dinner. I was thinking, “ok, I’m going to be patient…” We had a visit to Tennessee and my birthday coming up so I didn’t want to rush things if he was planning around one of those events. Then circumstances came up one Sunday that made me feel the big question was going to be delayed indefinitely…. and I was having a melt-down. In reality, Joel had already spoke with my parents over a week before and was putting the final pieces together for asking me to be his wife. In reality, that next day, Monday, was to be the day I would say, “yes!”

Joel invited me to come over for dinner that evening. It seemed to be just a normal night for us. After dinner, I asked what the plans were for the rest of the evening. He suggested that we have some quiet time together first, then he needed to take 20 minutes to get a project finished, and then we could go for a walk. (Going for walks have always been a great connecting time for us since early in our dating.) I thought it was a great idea. We had really good prayer time together, then he went off to do his project. However, he has never went to his room and shut the door to work on something. At one point, he came out to the kitchen and I couldn’t quite decide if he was acting strange or not. I was incredibly curious (and suspicious of a proposal), but my emotions were still a bit raw from the previous evening and decided to not set myself for disappointment.

Finally, we went on the walk… and I did wonder if he was going to ask out under the moonlight… but that ended up being the quickest walk, both in route and pace, that we have ever had. I figured that it was getting late and maybe he was just tired and wasn’t up for a long walk. When we got back to the house, I began getting my things together and he said to me, “I got you another book. Do you have time?” I said, “of course!”

(Let me preface the rest of this story: We enjoy reading books together, and Joel even does a great job adding some voices. Just the week before he had surprised me with the children’s board book, “Guess How Much I Love You.”)

The rest of the story….

I turned toward him and saw this heart-shaped pop-up book titled, “Love Bugs”. We cuddled up on the sofa and Joel began to read to me. It turns out that the 20 minute project he finished earlier in the evening was pasting his own notes to me on each page. As we went through the pages, I was suddenly feeling confused because something clued me into the reality of what was happening. Now remember, I didn’t think a proposal was actually going to happen any time soon so my head and emotions were having hard time catching up. He turned to the last page which had a spread of a dozen pop-up ‘love-bug’ roses. I saw the ring attached to the top rose and quickly looked away because (LOL) I was wasn’t sure that I was suppose to see it… like somehow he didn’t realize that he had left it there. (LOLOL It’s hilarious now, but at the time I was just shocked.) Finally, he folded down the last hand-written note that said, “Will you marry me?” I quickly said, “yes!” He then got up, knelt before me, and put the ring on my finger. About ten minutes later when the shock and confusion wore off, I cried. The wonderful realization that I was marrying my prince had settled in.